ARCHIVE: Luke 8:16-25

(Originally written September 28, 2009)

Key Verse: “‘Where is your faith?’ he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’ ” (Luke 8:25)

When Sh. John Wilson gave this passage’s message last week, he made the point that it was a sequel passage to the parable of the sower. Each story included in the passage—the example of the lamp, the story of Jesus’s mother and brothers, and finally Jesus quelling the storm on the Sea of Galilee—represents a portion of Jesus’s message about having good heart soil. Respectively, they are hearing the word, retaining it, and putting into practice by persevering. The last section in particular touched my heart. I hear the word all the time, in Bible study, church service, even on the radio or on Facebook. Retaining it is harder but still comes easy to me; I have a fairly good memory and consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the Bible. It is putting it into practice and relying on God more than myself that I greatly struggle with.

And I am not alone. Verses 22-25 tell the story of a great storm and some fearful disciples who feared the elements more than they feared the power of God. One day, Jesus suggested that he and his disciples should travel to the other side of the lake. This would be a short break for the hard-working disciples, who were not used to the great crowds and extensive traveling they had done with Jesus so far. Doubtless excited for even a short reprieve, they got into a boat and set sail. On the way, it was such a peaceful ride that Jesus fell asleep, and the disciples were likely relieved for a moment.

But this peace was not to last. Says verse 23: “A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.” The winds were so violent that the waves broke over the sides of the boat and the craft was risked being sunk. As many of the disciples were former fishermen, they would clearly understand their peril, and in a panic they ran to Jesus and woke him. “Master, Master!” they cried. “We’re going to drown” (v. 24)!

Roused from his peaceful sleep, Jesus got up immediately and rebuked the wind and waves, and the storm ceased its raging. The danger had passed, but the disciples’ fear was not abated; instead, now they wondered at the power of Jesus and asked themselves who was this that commanded even the winds and the water. Jesus had clearly been revealed as God, as the Creator of the universe and one who was in control at all times (even of the powers of nature), and had been with him for all this time. Even so, they had been afraid of the storm and had not trusted in Jesus and his power enough to be unafraid. Jesus asked them clearly, “Where is your faith” (v. 25)?

The disciples did not truly understand Jesus’s power until that moment; in fact, even then they did not understand completely. Yet here was a man who held sway over even a raging storm, and they had no faith in him. They took Jesus completely for granted and did not understand or desire to know his greater power. However, note that being with Jesus did not prevent the storm from happening. Here, they were in the will of God and following Christ, and yet this squall came upon them. It was unexpected and even life threatening for them; they were caught unaware and were overwhelmed with the power of the storm.

The same things happen in our own lives. Christians are not immune to life’s struggles and we, too, have moments of weakness. Sometimes these trials come out of nowhere, and they can be life-changing and devastating. Never has that been more apparent than now. With the start of a new semester come classes, hours of homework and studying, and new responsibilities with Narrowgate. Being around other students brings its own physical temptations, and my thoughts are easily swayed. On top of that, my family is short one parent and school has started all over again for my siblings as well. I spend roughly 15 hours a week working, and between UBF meetings, work, and schoolwork, I barely have time for myself. It is very easy to become burnt out and lose focus because everything is so overwhelming.

However, these seem to be easily overcome. While they weigh down on my spirit, they are temporary; these are things that I can handle, humanly speaking. In a sense, they are like small thunderstorms, and I can find shelter in things like rest, social interactions, even food or a good book. It is the bigger storms I cannot handle, drastic changes in my life that affect me in great ways and still hold sway in my heart.

Many of you know about the falling out that my family had with our church back in April. You have seen me upset and even angry at times; but more often you have probably seen me laugh about it and shrug it off as if it were nothing. In fact, it is not nothing; even now I harbor strong feelings of contempt and betrayal that I find hard to give up. In all honesty, I can’t give them up, not in my own power.

When the leaders in your church go behind your back and feed you excuses in order to be rid of you, it takes a fair amount of time to overcome hard feelings. My father was the true victim—a pastor of twenty years being forced out of his own church—but I took it quite personally. There was also a great amount of disbelief and anger; these were people of God, acting as if they had no scruples at all. There was no Christ-like action, no respect toward my family. It was people like them, I thought, that chased people away from the church. We spent nearly 7 years there, trying to serve and do what God wanted us to, and yet we were kicked out; now that we are gone, people are coming out of the woodwork to help with vacation Bible school, a tent revival, and all sorts of things. I wonder to myself all the time: where were they when we needed them?

On top of all the bitterness inside, things are drastically different at home. My mother is the only parent around for a month at a time, money is a lot tighter, and things feel incomplete and even foreign. For a long time I debated about leaving the UBF to help my family and to take a load off of my shoulders. I thought it might help. But I was only thinking about things that I could do to make the situation better and less hurtful in someway, and after prayer and talking with a close friend I realized that that would be the worst thing I could do.

Through this whole mess the one thing that has kept me going is God. Being around people of faith, who encourage and love me; spending time digging deep into God’s Word, and lots prayer have been my anchors. God is constantly working to change my perspective to see the good that has come of these changes, and to teach me to persevere even when I do not understand. I am growing as a Christian and as an adult and learning how to deal with situations that drastically affect my life. I am learning to be more responsible by far and take ownership of my choices and their consequences. By being free of my old church, I no longer feel burdened and am free to come to UBF and truly do what I believe is God’s will for me.

I think I have to do it all by myself. I place my faith in things other than Him. My first instinct should be to approach God in prayer, to admit my weaknesses and rely on Him for my source of strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” I cannot let my heart be “choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures” (Luke 8:14), and need to place my faith in Him every day. When Jesus asks me daily, “where is your faith?”, I want to be able to humbly reply “in Christ alone.”

Storms will not last forever. Jesus is my peace through the raging wind and waves, and He can calm even the greatest storm; even when that storm is within me. May God continue to reveal to me His power and remind me to place my faith in Him. May He help me to grow through my life’s great trials and be my shelter, protector, and Savior.

One Word: Place my faith in the unfailing power and strength of Christ, who can calm any storm.